Kim Jong-Nam murder trial to begin on Oct 2
SHAH ALAM: The trial of two foreign women who were charged with murdering Kim Chol or Kim Jong-nam, the estranged halfbrother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been fixed for 23 days from Oct 2 until Nov 30 at the High Court here.
Judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin said with the agreement of both parties the trial would be held for 11 days in October and 12 days in November with the plea from both the accused to be recorded on the first day of the trial.
“The trial will start at 9am,” said Justice Azmi.
Siti Aisyah, 25, of Indonesia, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, were charged with four others still at large with the murder of Kim Chol, 45, at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) departure hall at 9am on Feb 13 this year.
The duo, who looked calm, were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
The court also allowed the prosecution’s application for the case to be jointly tried.
Earlier, Selangor prosecution director Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad, who led the prosecution team, applied for both accused to be jointly tried as the case involved the same transaction.
He also informed the court that the prosecution would call 30 to 40 witnesses, including 10 expert witnesses, as well a few foreign witnesses, depending on the progress of the trial.
“We have also served 33 documents pertaining to this case to the defence this morning. We have another three documents, to be served in two or three days,” he said
Lawyer Gooi Soon Seng represented Siti Aisyah, while lawyers Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and Datuk Naran Singh acted for Doan.
Naran also requested the prosecution to supply witness statements of the expected witnesses to the defence by end of August, but deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, who prosecuted, said the prosecution did not intend to prepare the witness statement as the witnesses would be giving direct evidence in court.
Justice Azmi, however said if the prosecution changed their mind, they could supply the witness statement to the defence by end of August.
The judge also granted Hisyam’s request to meet and talk with his client for half and hour as he had not the chance to do so
Earlier, Doan and Siti Aisyah, both clad in ‘ baju kurung’ were brought in the courtroom at 9.35am.
Both of them were seen talking to their lawyers and officers from the Vietnamese and Indonesian embassies, respectively.
They were first charged with the offence on March 1 at the Sepang Magistrate’s Court.
However, no plea was recorded from both accused as capital punishment comes under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
The case was then transferred to the Shah Alam High Court on May 30.
According to Section 172B of Criminal Procedure Code, the trial has to commence not later than 90 days from the date of the plea recorded from the accused.
It was reported that Jong-nam was at klia2 on Feb 13 to board a flight to Macau when two women approached and suddenly wiped his face with toxic liquid which was later identified as the VX nerve agent.
Jong-nam, who travelled with a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol, died while on the way to Putrajaya Hospital. He came to Malaysia on Feb 6. Outside court, acting ambassador of Indonesia, Andreano Erwin, when asked why Siti Aisyah was in tears after the proceeding, he said that she felt down after being informed that the trial process would take some time. — Bernama